Rankings of universities in South Africa

Rankings of universities in South Africa are largely based on international university rankings, since there are no South African rankings as of yet.

Location of South Africa

These international university rankings indicate that South Africa's university system is the strongest on the continent: it is home to five of the six highest ranked African universities,[1] including the two campuses consistently ranked as academically strongest in Africa, University of Cape Town[2] and the University of the Western Cape which are situated in South Africa's two most prominent city (Cape Town).

Highly cited international university rankings

In part because of the inherent difficulty of ranking complex educational institutions, there are an expanding number of competing international university ranking schemes, each with a different emphasis. Four of the most prominent are the Times Higher Education World University Rankings (most widely accepted), The Centre for World University rankings (CWUR),QS World University Rankings, and the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU, sometimes referred to as the "Shanghai Rankings").

Times Higher Education World University Rankings

The Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings for 2021 ranked the top South African universities as follows:[3]

SA RankWorld RankUniversity
1155[4]University of Cape Town
2201-250[5]University of the Witwatersrand
3251–300[6]Stellenbosch University
4351-400[7]University of Kwa-zulu Natal
5401–500[8]Durban University of Technology
6501–600[9]North-West University
7601–800[10]University of Johannesburg
8601–800[11]University of Pretoria
9601-800[12]University of the Western Cape
101000+[13]Tshwane University of Technology

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings for 2020 ranked the top South African universities as follows:[14]

SA RankWorld RankUniversity
1136[15]University of Cape Town
2194[16]University of the Witwatersrand
3251–300[17]Stellenbosch University
4401-500[18]University of Kwa-zulu Natal
5501–600[19]North-West University
6601-800[20]University of Johannesburg
7601–800[21]University of Pretoria
8601-800[22]University of the Western Cape
9801-1000[23]Tshwane University of Technology
101000+[24]University of South Africa

QS World University Rankings

The 2014-15 edition of the QS World University Rankings ranked the top South African universities as follows:

SA rankWorld rankUniversityArts & HumanitiesEngineering & ITLife Sciences & MedicineNatural ScienceSocial Sciences
1141[25]University of Cape Town108294100220116
2318[26]University of the Witwatersrand148249204280800000
3390[27]Stellenbosch University237—268356283
4471–480[28]University of Pretoria283—349—241
5501–550[29]University of KwaZulu-Natal——366——

Previous years' world rankings are as follows (before 2010 the ranking was known as the Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings):

SA rankUniversity20062007200820092010
1 University of Cape Town257200176146161æ
2 University of Witwatersrand322282319321360
3 Stellenbosch University—————
4 University of Pretoria509469501–600401–500451–500
5 University of KwaZulu-Natal484487401–500501–600501–550

ARWU/Shanghai

The Academic Ranking of World Universities has ranked the top South African universities as follows:

SA rankUniversity 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014[30] 2013[31] 2012[32] 2010[33] 2009[34] 2008[35] 2007[36] 2006[37] 2005[38] 2004[39] 2003[40]
1 University of Cape Town 201-300 201-300 301-400 201-300 201-300201–300201–300201–300201–300201–302201–302203–304201–300203–300202–301251–300
2 University of the Witwatersrand 201-300 301-400 201-300 201-300 201-300201–300301–400301–400301–400303–401303–401305–402301–400301–400302–403451–500
3 Stellenbosch University 401-500 401-500 401-500 401-500 401-500401–500401–500401–500401–500402–501402–503403–510401–500401–500404–502451–500
4 University of KwaZulu-Natal 401-500 — 401-500 401-500 401-500401–500——————————
5 University of Pretoria 401-500 401-500 — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
6 University of Johannesburg — — 401-500 — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Note: These are the only ranked South African universities.

Center for World University Rankings (CWUR)

The CWUR ranked the top South African Universities as follows:[41][42]

2018-19 SA RankUniversity2018-192015
1University of Cape Town223248
2University of the Witwatersrand230149
3University of KwaZulu-Natal402401
4University of Pretoria438678
5Stellenbosch University448500
6University of Johannesburg790-
7North-West University964-

International Rankings for Additional Context

University Ranking by Academic Performance (URAP)

URAP, which is a newer ranking scheme based solely on quantitative measures of academic productivity, includes data for a larger number of global universities, and thus gives an alternative view of the relative standing of more South African institutions. The 2016-2017 edition of URAP ranked the top South African Universities as follows:[43]

SA RankWorld RankUniversity
1240University of Cape Town
2316University of Witwatersrand
6369University of KwaZulu-Natal
4418Stellenbosch University
5459University of Johannesburg
3300University of Pretoria
7796North-West University
8906University of the Western Cape
91061Rhodes University
101081University of the Free State
111121University of South Africa
121311Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
131511Tshwane University of Technology
141904University of Limpopo
151907Cape Peninsula University of Technology
161924Durban University of Technology

Business-oriented rankings

Several international rankings schemes focus on the placement of graduates in business settings.

Times Higher Education Alma Mater Index

This is another THE ranking which aims to measure the real world success of a University's alumni by ranking Universities according to the number of their graduates that are currently CEOs of Fortune Global 500 companies. The global number one for 2017 is by a considerable margin, Harvard University. The only African University that appears on the Global top 100 is the University of the Witwatersrand. The 2017 South African rankings are as follows:[44]

SA RankWorld RankUniversity
254University of the Witwatersrand

Tredence-Emerging Global Employability University Ranking

This is a global ranking of universities by the perceived quality of their graduates by top employers around the world. The only African university in the top 150 is the University of the Witwatersrand. The 2013 ranking is as follows:[45]

SA RankWorld RankUniversity
1139University of the Witwatersrand

Bloomberg Billionaire Ranking

This ranks universities according to their popularity among US based billionaires. The only ranked South African university is the University of the Witwatersrand. The 2014 ranking is as follows:[46]

SA RankWorld RankUniversity
18University of the Witwatersrand

Additional context on South African higher educational institutions

2010 Centre for Higher Education Transformation report

A 2010 report by Centre for Higher Education Transformation identified 3 different university clusters in South Africa, grouped according to function. The input variables used to group universities were:

  • Percentage of headcount enrolment in science, engineering and technology
  • Masters and doctoral enrolments
  • Student to staff ratios
  • Permanent staff with doctoral degrees
  • Private and government income
  • Student fee income

The output variables were:

  • Student success rates
  • Graduation rates
  • Weighted research output units per permanent staff member

The Red cluster constitutes the top research-intensive universities. The Blue cluster consists of institutions focused primarily on technical training, while the Green cluster includes institutions which show characteristics of both missions. The clusters are:[47]

Red Cluster Green Cluster Blue Cluster
University of the Witwatersrand University of the Free State Vaal University of Technology
Stellenbosch University University of KwaZulu-Natal Central University of Technology
University of Cape Town North-West University Durban University of Technology
University of Pretoria University of Fort Hare Mangosuthu University of Technology
Rhodes University University of Limpopo Tshwane University of Technology
University of the Western Cape Cape Peninsula University of Technology
University of Johannesburg University of Venda
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Walter Sisulu University
University of Zululand

References
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https://web.archive.org/web/20160417014732/http://www.4icu.org/topAfrica/

See also
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